Senior actor Naresh says that his mother deserves a Padma Award and he will try even now. He talks about his upcoming films, his personal life, his guru Jandhyala and his future plans
suresh kavirayani
Senior actor VK Naresh spoke about the Padma Awards and he expressed his anguish that his mother didn’t get the award. “My mother created history with 46 films as director, which is a rare one in the world cinema. She is an actor, director and producer and I tried my best to get a Padma Award for her. I took up the issue to Delhi also, but of no use,” said Naresh.
The actor added that he will try even in the coming days. “When KCR was the chief minister, he recommended my mother’s name for Padma Award, but she didn’t get it at that time,” said Naresh and added that he still felt anguish that she didn’t get the award.
“There are many people who deserved Padma awards, but they too didn’t get it. Now, the BJP government is giving awards for deserving people,” he said. He added that he will try in the future not only as her son, but also as a film personality. “I appeal to the government that people who worked relentlessly for the development of the film industry should be honoured with awards,” said Naresh. The actor said he is busy with a number of films this New Year.
“In the last 40 days I heard 22 stories and I selected a few of them which I liked. I am playing lead in two stories,” he said. He added that both films and OTTs are doing well at present. “My film ‘Veeranjaneyula Vihara Yatra’ became sensational in OTT and now the film ‘Sankranthiki Vasthunnam’ is also a huge hit in theatres. So people are watching in theatres and at the same time they are also watching films in OTT,” said Naresh. He expressed happiness that he is getting offers to play roles in OTT films too.
The actor said that he is writing stories and he wants to direct in the near future. “I am very busy as an actor in my second innings. I would like to make sequels to ‘Chitram Bhalare Vichitram’ and ‘Srivariki Premalekha’ which I have started writing for these two. Definitely, I would like to direct in the near future,” he said.
The actor said that a biopic on his mother Vijayanirmala is also on the cards. “My mother wanted me to write her story. So, I started writing and completed three pages and stopped. She asked me to write only the truth about her and not to write any lies. If a correct director and producers approach me, definitely I will give my mother’s story to do a biopic,” said Naresh.
The actor said that 2025 is going to be the busiest year for him. “I am acting in nine films and all of them are different from each other. Also, last year my successful film ‘Veeranjaneyulu Vihara Yatra’ created a new market for me in OTT,” said Naresh. He added that he is working with young directors in these films. “I completed 52 years as an actor in the industry and I should thank all the directors, producers, writers and technicians for taking in their films,” said Naresh.
The actor said that he earned so much from society, so he wanted to give back something to it. “So, I am planning two big projects this year: one Cinema Museum and a Library, the other one is Creative Space for Young People. Pavitra and I already started on these two projects and the details of these two projects will be announced later,” said the actor.
He added that director Jandhyala, Krishna and Vijayanirmala are his gurus. “Jandhyala taught me the basics of acting and he gave life to me as an actor. He is like a father to me. I started a dubbing and post production theatre on Jandhyala’s name and soon I am coming up with a book on him,” said the actor. He added that he will launch the book on Jandhyala on February 20 on the occasion of his mother Vijayanirmala’s birthday. The actor also announced that from this year he is going to start a ‘Vijaya Krishna’ award.
Talking about his life after Pavitra entered, he comments, “The Titanic Ship reached the shore.” He added that he is in a good phase of his life and everything is positive. The actor is celebrating his 65th birthday on Monday.
